


while we're at it

by HiddenEye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Deaged!Shiro, Fluff, Gen, Hunk agreeing to Lance's disgusting weapon, The team having fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 03:10:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9800243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenEye/pseuds/HiddenEye
Summary: “I can't believe we're bathing in each otherssaliva,” Pidge muttered darkly while Lance and Hunk cheered in agreement, slicking her hair back so that none of the wet strands were in her eyes. “I am so going to figure out a better way to change this thing into shooting something else.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm taking full advantage of Shiro's birthday because the poor guy deserves a break
> 
> Like Shiro, _I_ need a break amongst this hellhole of a fandom and I dunno about you but some self indulgent gen is the perfect drug
> 
> Not beta'd we die with dignity
> 
> Enjoy!

Keith wasn't even religious to begin with, but he prayed to every god judging him that no one and nothing was going to attack them soon.

To say the least, the day wasn't going as well as they hoped it would, taking an unexpected turn where their mission was forced to put on hold. Worry overrode frustration, and it didn't take long before all of them were trying to call for an unresponsive Shiro through their helmets, reaching through their bonds again and again until the black lion had to send a growl of irritation for them to stop.

Keith was surprised that the lions were able to make that happen, and was even more astonished when Red’s guilt trickled into his own conscious, as if the black lion had directly told them to keep their paladins in check while it didn't let anyone near Shiro.

They knew the black lion was protective for its paladin, but they didn't know it would go through certain lengths by cutting off the rest of the paladins in order to keep him safe.

It was a relief that the Castle of Lions had zipped through a wormhole as soon as the lions landed safely in their hangars, retreating from a surprise attack that wasn't supposed to happen when they should be making an alliance with the natives. Tension rose high as four paladins scrambled out to make their way towards Shiro, calling for him repeatedly.

Keith was quick to get into the black lion, heart thudding against his sternum when dread was trying to sink its claws into his body.

Imagine his surprise when he found something he would never thought was actually possible.

“No.”

Shutting off the last of his thoughts, Keith peered over the tab to find Pidge slouching at the end of the sofa, her laptop perched perfectly on her abdomen while her feet planted firmly on the floor. Shiro stiffened at the sound of her voice, his hand hanging over the remote that was connected to her laptop.

Keith realised that it was the same remote Lance managed to grab from one of the aliens before they left, the same remote that changed Shiro into someone more...younger.

Shiro started back at her, his right hand still hovering in the air as he fingers twitched a bit in anticipation. “What?”

“You know what,” she said, giving him a pointed look through the rim of her glasses. “I told you to not touch anything.”

“I didn't,” he replied, sounding eerily calm for a six-year-old, his usual deepened voice now altered to suit his small body that Keith was still getting used to the sudden change of dynamics.

That didn't count the too-big tunic hanging to Shiro's knees as well as the pants they found that fit just right in the storage room, where all of them had dug through the dusted coated boxes to find something more suitable for him to wear in order to withstand the chilly hallways of the castle.

Even if Allura had wrinkled her nose at his outfit, Shiro seemed content enough to walk around with thick socks, since they couldn't find any shoes that were his size.

“You were going to,” Pidge dragged her unimpressed gaze towards the said hand, before giving him the same look. “Caught red-handed too.”

“I wanted to see what it does.”

“I thought you were solving Hunk's Oct.”

“I finished it,” Shiro told her with a small shrug, but pulled his hand back as it fell onto his lap with an inaudible slap. “And I got bored, so I wanted to see what you were doing.”

She blinked at him. “You finished- okay, alright. I shouldn't even be surprised,” She wiggled her fingers at him from her position. “Can I see it?”

Shiro stretched over to where the toy lay forgotten beside Keith -the same place they left Shiro to play with Hunk’s own version of a Rubik's cube, Keith recalled, before Keith himself wandered into Neverland the moment he took his eyes off him- and gave him a smile. “Hi, Keith.”

“Hi.” Keith eyed the way Shiro dragged himself across the sofa to make his way back to Pidge, who let out an appreciative hum when he dropped the solved toy in her hand. “Did you find anything, Pidge?”

“Still working on it,” she turned over the toy, where it took the shape of an octagon with the same concept of the original Rubik's cube back on Earth, and you had to drag your finger across the surface instead of turning it around mechanically. “I’m making sure we know what we're doing here, because I don't want to mess anything up if we're not careful.”

There were questions that Keith wanted answered, but he knew that she was doing everything she can and he didn't want to pressure her into making accidents, not when Shiro's life was at the line. “Is it going to take long?”

“When I'm done, you’ll be the first one to know,” she snorted lightly, giving him a look. “Have some faith in me, would you?”

“I'm just worried,” he grumbled, looking down to the tab in his hand again, but not really seeing the text. “That's it.”

“We all are, but I've been at this for a little more than three hours, and lemme tell you, I need to dissect their code in order to know what's going on in that thing,” she tapped the Oct on each side before the colours began to move into a frenzy. Once everything was back to its clustered mess, she passed it towards Shiro again. “Go wild.”

Shiro groaned, but nonetheless took it from her. It was strange to see how freely he was able to express his emotions like this; contrary to his older self, refusing to show any sort of dissatisfaction since he was always busy trying to maintain the team’s stability by making sure nothing falls apart. “You messed it up again.”

“That's the whole point.”

“I heard the distress of a little man,” Lance announced as he stepped into the room with Hunk right behind him. “No worries, because we're here to save the day.”

Keith saw them carrying a medium sized box each, and frowned suspiciously at Lance's grin. “What are you doing?”

“Well,” Lance drawled, setting the box in the middle of the clearing that managed to catch Shiro's attention as well. Curious grey eyes keenly watched the way Hunk’s box joined his on the floor too. “Since there's basically nothing _fun_ on this ship, all of you are going to join us in this thing Hunk and I made.”

“Did you even help?” Pidge scoffed, straightening herself up to have a look as well.

“I'm just gonna ignore your criticism because I _did_ , in fact, help Hunk in _designing_ these babies so that it would look super cool,” Lance waggled his eyebrows at Shiro. “Specially made for you, little guy.”

“What is it?” Shiro slipped down the sofa to pad his way towards the boxes, Oct forgotten in his hand as he stood beside Hunk.

“Oh, you're going to love this,” Hunk began, a large smile on his own face as he opened the flaps of his box to reveal something inside, and Shiro scooted nearer to have a look. “Completely harmless, mind you, and suitable for every age. So, no one's going to accidently knock anyone else out, or even put them in the cryopod if we get a little _too_ rough.”

“I'm beginning to have some doubts,” Keith said dryly, but nonetheless set aside the tab to mimic Shiro's movement as he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “What did you make, anyway?”

Shiro reached inside and took one out, eyes sparkling with excitement when Keith realised he was holding onto a smaller version of Lance's blaster, silver exterior gleaming slightly under the room light as Shiro turned it over in wonder. _“Cool.”_

“You’re giving him a _gun?_ ” Pidge exclaimed, snapping into attention at the same time Keith stood up abruptly, both of them glaring at their fellow teammates. “How is that _harmless?_ ”

“No, no, no! You guys got it all wrong- okay, look,” Lance took out another one of them from his own box, taking an aim at Keith’s chest that caused the later to flinch slightly, but immediately bore his murderous glower as Lance continued to explain. “It's a _water_ gun. Hunk and I thought it’d be cool to have one of these to fool around with, to pass the time or something.”

“But, water is pretty limited,” Keith interjected as he knelt beside Shiro, who was busy aiming the nozzle of the water gun to each of them, play shooting them with each ‘blam’. “How are we supposed to use this if we don't have enough water?”

“That's the best part,” Hunk began with a grin, taking one out for himself. “Instead of using water to fill in these guns, we use _gas_ , where we just blow into the back of them, and then we get free water anywhere we are the moment gas changes into liquid. As shown,”

He brought the butt of the water gun near his lips, blowing onto the small piece of metal embedded into gun. After the third time, Hunk aimed at Lance, pressing into the trigger before a spurt of water hit him in the shoulder that caused Lance to protest as he tried to block it with a hand.

Pidge let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”

“The wonders of matter and kinetic energy,” Hunk chuckled appreciatively.

Keith was about to reach over to take one for himself when a sudden blast of water shot at his back, causing him to yelp in surprise. When he swiveled over to have a look, the culprit was already running out of the room, little feet pattering on the floor as Shiro laughed in victory. “Yes! I got Keith!”

The others laughed along as Keith gaped after him, not before snapping his attention towards both Lance and Hunk as he grabbed for his water gun.

“Oh no,” Hunk muttered, both he and Lance backing up with their guns gripped in their hands while Keith began huffing air into the gun determinedly.

“Shiro! Wait for us!” Lance hauled Hunk with him towards the door, where they chased after their small Black Paladin who was already out of sight.

Keith could see the way the bars of his gun filled up to the top, and Pidge was already at his side picking up her own gun, studying it with a brush of her finger. Then, a slow smile began to grow, where she shot the same mischievous look towards him. “Wanna team up?”

“To get back at them? Sure,” the corner of his lips twitched as he stood up. “Let's go.”

Slowly, as if they were in enemy territory, they pressed themselves against the walls, slightly cautious at the silence the hallways provided them with. With a nod towards Pidge, Keith opened the doors to poke his head out.

“ _Fire!_ ”

Three streams of water made him jerk his head back, and Pidge chuckled lowly under her breath, her own water gun filled to the top.

“Let's roll.”

They got out and began shooting at the three paladins, and Keith found himself facing Lance at the front while Shiro was perched onto Hunk's shoulders, all of them with large grins on their faces.

He was able to see Shiro's missing two front teeth as well.

“Enemy breached!” Shiro shouted, taking an aim at Pidge's head, causing her to splutter out water indignantly. “Form Voltron!”

“I can't believe we're bathing in each others _saliva,_ ” Pidge muttered darkly while Lance and Hunk cheered in agreement, slicking her hair back so that none of the wet strands were in her eyes. “I am so going to figure out a better way to change this thing into shooting something else.”

“While you do that, I think we better run,” Keith said, pointing towards where the other three were giving them shit-eating grins. “We're out numbered.”

Her eyes widened when the trio aimed their guns towards them. “Oh, damn.”

In the end, all of them were drenched as they squelched their way through the hallways of the castle, laughing and enjoying themselves after a long while as the initial tension drained out, problem forgotten for the time being.

“Well,” Lance began when all of them tried to catch their breath at the ballroom. He offered his arms towards Shiro, who slipped away from Hunk's shoulders and jumped into his embrace, letting out a breathless chuckle at the impact. “You guys lost.”

Keith scowled, shoving the gun in the back pocket of his pants. “No way. We were even.”

“Nah,” Lance raised an eyebrow at Shiro, jolting him slightly. “What do you say, huh? Do you think they're sore losers?”

Shiro hummed thoughtfully, tapping the gun against his chin as he scrutinised both Keith and Pidge. “They played fair, like we did.”

“So,” Hunk drew out the word when he didn't continue, watching Shiro curiously. “Is that a yes or a no?”

“We won.” Shiro declared with a nonchalant shrug, but his grin was huge. “Because I shot Keith first.”

“That's hardly fair,” Pidge pointed out, but jokingly ruffled her hair that caused the rest of them to protest when they were hit with a rain of water. “But fine, you get to be _unfair_ just this once.”

“And, since all of this playing is making me hungry,” Hunk began, clasping his hands together with a smile. “How about some snacks, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, let's eat that pie you made, Hunk,” Lance began, settling Shiro to his feet. “The one that's still in the oven, because it smelled _awesome_ when I got in the kitchen just now.”

Hunk blinked at him in confusion. “I didn't make any pie.”

“Uh, yes, you did? It's in the kitchen, I _smelled_ it.”

“Even if there _was_ pie, I didn't make it.”

Lance paused, squinting at him. “Are you sure?”

Hunk put his hand up. “Scout's honour.”

“Well, _someone_ actually made it and I know for sure that Coran wouldn't bake something as earthly as that,” Lance stopped, reconsidering his words. “Unless, Altea had pies like us, then that'd be cool too.”

“I've been working on that remote for the whole day,” Pidge reminded them. “So, no, it wasn't me.”

“Lance and I had been busy with the guns.” Hunk pointed out.

At once, the dawn of realisation began to sink in when they turned their gaze onto Keith, who wouldn't meet their eyes as he squeezed the water out of his gloves.

“Dude,” Hunk began, laughter and disbelief mingling in his tone that made Keith hunched his shoulders to his ears; it was considerably odd that they were beginning to colour too. “You bake?”

“Maybe,” Keith shook the last of the water from the gloves, still refusing to look at them.

“You totally did,” Lance snickered. “I didn't know you can make anything edible.”

“One of the foster mums taught me how to bake,” Keith lifted his head, eyes warning them to not say anything. “And, it stuck. So yes, it was me.”

“What flavour?” Pidge asked, a combination of awe and doubt.

He shrugged. “It looked like blueberries, but tasted like bananas. So, I tried to improvise.”

“Oh, _those_ things,” Hunk nodded, untying his band to twist the water out as well. “Yeah, I thought they were good for bread too. But, good call on the pie.”

“But, that's all I'm making,” Keith quickly added, combing his fingers through his wet hair. “I'm leaving all the cooking stuff to Hunk. Don't make me do anything else.”

“I feel safer when it's _only_ Hunk,” Lance announced with a swing of his arm over his friend's shoulders, grinning at him. “Feeding me with love and care.”

Hunk chuckled, warmed and embarrassed as he patted his back. “I'm glad you enjoyed it.”

Lance gave him a mock salute. “An honour, captain.”

“All this talk about food is making me hungry,” Pidge began. “Let's go try Keith's banana-blueberry pie.”

When they began to walk, Keith offered his hand towards Shiro, and small fingers latched onto him as they made their way towards the kitchen. Shiro tugged onto his hand to get his attention, and Keith had to lean down to hear what he had to say when his voice dropped down into a whisper. “I think you're great at making pies.”

Keith blinked in surprise, before offering him a small smile while Shiro looked at him with wide expectant eyes, almost as if he was making sure Keith knew that he meant what he said. “Thanks, Shiro.”

With a satisfied nod, Shiro began swinging their arms together as they continued their way.

Keith felt quite satisfied with that, and he thought the day wasn't as bad as he thought earlier.

Anyway, he managed to hit every single one of them more than twice with his saliva-gun _,_ so yes, it was a good day.


End file.
